31 years after the Winter Olympic Games were held in Sarajevo, the Olympic spirit still lives in the home of the Malec family. Slavko and Vlatka had a significant role in the organization of the Olympic Games in that golden year 1984. And not just that. Their love story started right then and has lasted for 31 years. It became even more beautiful with their three daughters- Anja, Valentina and Antea.
Their home is full of details that recall the Olympic fairy-tale in Sarajevo. Slavko has held leading positions within the ZOI 84 Company until three years ago, while Vlatka still works there but is also an athletic coach. Both recall with a smile all the details of that golden age.
“Those were the times in which we were setting the standards, by which, thirty years ago, the Olympic world was operating. The bobsledding track was made from three parts for the first time in history, ski-jumping ramps were the most modern; to the point that they are still today the standard for construction. It was a time in which we all were breathing as one, working as one“, said Malec, the director of the olympic complex during the Winter Olympic Games in Sarajevo.
Sarajevo did not have anything, just a soul
“Other candidates were much better compared to Sarajevo because we didn’t have an ice surface then; we had neither an ice-hockey team nor any great skiers. However, we had been lobbying effectively and in the end Sarajevo got the Olympics because it had a soul“, said Malec.
After Sarajevo got the Olympics, designing and construction began. Everything was done with the great enthusiasm and based on very good plans, although at the beginning, as Malec says, there were some obstructions from Slovenia and Serbia.
(Source: Klix.ba)
